Demons in “Calvary”

I’m pleased to see that “Calvary” is mostly getting good reviews, though it also has received a few negative reviews that are rather peculiar. The criticisms of the film usually say something to the effect that the townspeople are strange and extreme, hard to believe, hovering in a zone near comedy, and that this made for a discordant experience.

What is not immediately realized by people, including many critics, is that much of the movie is about demon possession. Now if your entire frame of reference for demon possession is Hollywood movies, you won’t recognize this. But if your frame of reference actually includes something like, oh I dunno, the BIBLE, then you can’t miss it. It’s the most obvious thing in the world. Everyone in the town is tormented, and they see in this priest a living rebuke. They see in him the enemy with whom they are compelled to engage.

The priest is enacting some of the tribulations of Jesus, from the point that Jesus entered Jerusalem. It’s the spectacle of goodness encountering the worst of humanity. It’s supposed to be extreme. It’s supposed to be bizarre. That’s pretty much the whole idea.